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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005/01/10 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session OFFICIAL MINUTES 11fsCTOF OUIS CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION PARK January 10, 2005 The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m. Present at the meeting were Councilmembers John Basill, Phil Finkelstein, Sue Sanger, Sue Santa, Sally Velick and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Staff present: City Manager(Mr Harmening), Community Development Director(Mr. Locke), Economic Development Coordinator(Mr. Hunt), Finance Director(Ms. McGann), and City Clerk (Ms. Reichert). 1. Hoigaard Village Tax Increment Financing Assistance Representatives from Union Land II, a LLC of Dunbar Development Corporation, were present at the meeting They explained the four stage project that would result in 338 housing units in a project named "Hoigaard Village". Mr. Hunt outlined the benefits of the project as well as how it relates to the Elmwood study. Mark Ruff from Ehler's and Associates discussed the financial aspects of the developer's request. Councilmember Basill felt that neighborhood meetings are important as we move forward. He would like to encourage Hoigaard's to stay in business in St. Louis Park. He would like the older buildings on the site to be incorporated into the project. He stated that the neighborhood had concerns about traffic at W. 36th St and Wooddale Ave. Councilmember Basill would like to see sidewalks separated from traffic in the neighborhood. He inquired if the Highway 100 project would impact this area. Councilmember Sanger stated her concerns that Hwy. 100 is a bottleneck and that development would bring added traffic She also encouraged Hoigaard's to stay in St. Louis Park She would like to see the smokestack stay but would like to see the small older buildings go. Councilmember Sanger would like to see green space added to the project proposal. She wants to see a "real" high rise condo building and use other land for single family homes. She had concerns about the railroad and also felt that they needed a grade separated crossing. Councilmember Finkelstein had concerns about Highway 100 and whether the land being discussed would be needed for the Hwy 100 reconstruction project The developers stated that discussions had taken place with MnDot and they do not need any of the land that would be used in the development. The Council held discussion about the tax increment financing that was requested. All were concerned and felt that more work needed to be done on the financing plan as the proposal moved forward. Councilmember Basill felt that large numbers of single family homes may not be right for this development but he was concerned about the rental numbers. He thought there should be more owner occupied housing in the development. Study Session Minutes -2- January 10, 2005 Councilmember Santa would like to see green space and a recreation area incorporated into the development and she liked the idea of a high rise. In terms of traffic, she felt the timing was poor because of the current development happening on the Quadion site. She wondered if W. 36th St., Wooddale and Highway 7 would be able to handle all of the proposed development at once. Mr. Hunt stated that stormwater issues still need to be addressed and added that the developer would like to know if Council supported the project. Councilmember Finkelstein commented that he wanted to be sure the density of the proposed project was based on need and not on a formula based on the land price. The Council talked about the possibility of the need for tax increment financing in that area. Tax increment financing serves a public good, but it often seems they ask the City to subsidize a deal that had been made between a developer and a seller. In a sense, the City may be asked to be a silent partner. Councilmember Finkelstein stated concern that the sale price of the land was far too high and, as a result, they were asking for too much tax increment financing. He further noted that under the earlier Elmwood study conducted with the neighborhood and the City, it called for an office building to be built in that area With or without tax increment financing, development could likely occur in that area. As a result, they encouraged and directed the developer and the seller of the land to take a look at a serious "hair cut" on the sale price of the land and in addition look at making two separate proposals for tax increment financing, one for the retail/mixed use process on W. 36th Street and second dealing with the Hoigaards site itself. Other members of the Council also had a concern about the amount of sale price and the corresponding affect it would have on tax increment financing. Based on discussion, council directed staff to continue working with the developers and to come back at a later date to Council. 2. 2005 Utility Rates Ms McGann reported on the five year forecast that was done and outlined the activity in each fund. Councilmember Sanger preferred to see small increases in taxes on a yearly basis rather than one large increase once in awhile. Ms. McGann stated that the increase was substantial for 2004 and generated a lot of calls. She stated that the auditors were looking at the city's reserves. Upon review of the reserves, the auditors suggested that the city be cautious about how we manage enterprise funds. Councilmember Finklestein stated that he trusted staff to make appropriate recommendations about utility costs and fees and suggested we move forward with first reading as proposed by staff. Mr. Harmening informed council that this would be on the next regular council agenda for first reading. Study Session Minutes -3- January 10, 2005 3. Franchise Fees/Permit Fees Ms. Reichert informed the council that a public hearing had been scheduled for January 18th for the ordinance allowing the city to collect permit fees in addition to franchise fees from the gas and electric utilities This ordinance would correct an error made when the franchise fee ordinances were adopted in 2003. Staff was expecting representatives of Centerpoint Energy and possibly Xcel Energy to be present at the meeting to voice their opposition. . 4. Public Process Mr. Harmening presented to council the draft of"Guiding Principles for Public Process" which would describe from a values and policy perspective the City's expectations for good public process and its role in the decision making. He explained that the principles outlined in the draft were not intended describe the specific "how" and "when" of public process, but rather the "why". The draft, which had been prepared with the assistance of Mike Rardin and Lynn Schwartz, had received a favorable response from the Department Directors . Councilmember Santa commented that having guidelines prepared would be helpful in assisting developers interested in working in St. Louis Park to understand our community culture Councilmember Sanger was concerned that different audiences would interpret the statements differently. She wanted to ensure that the expectation was not that the city would run the same public process every time an issue came forward, and also wanted to ensure that excessive public process was not expected at times where it would be more logical for council to use their authority and discretion to act. Councilmember Finklestein suggested that each councilmember make comments and return those comments to city staff to be studied and possibly incorporated into the document. Mr. Harmening pointed out that many of the comments made by the council in the meeting referred to language already included in the document and that staff is open to making changes suggested by council in terms of both content and wording. 5. Tobacco Enforcement Mr. Hoffman outlined issues that had been raised regarding enforcement of Hennepin County's smoking ban which affected all licensed food establishments in the county. In the event a patron of an establishment refused to stop smoking at the request of the establishment's manager, our Police Officers would be dispatched to remove the patron from the establishment on the grounds of a simple trespass. However, if complaints are received that the establishment is allowing smoking to occui on the premises, staff would prefer than Hennepin County handle the matter through the County Attorney and that the city not be responsible for enforcement in that event. Council agreed with staff's recommendation and directed staff to work with the City Attorney's office to reach an agreement with Hennepin County. Study Session Minutes -4- January 10, 2005 6. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m. --, C y Clerk Mr yor /